In the Context of Singapore...
Through interviews with 2 valuable individuals from international and national perspectives of the Global Wetlands Organisation in SouthEast Asia, we have gathered their responses, and related them to the value of Wetlands in Singapore.
FLOATING WETLANDS in Singapore
A floating wetland is a small artificial platform, built on a mat made up of polymeric material, that acts as substrate for aquatic emergent plants to grow in waters that are usually too deep for growth. The roots of the plants will then spread through the floating wetland, down into the water to create a dense column of roots with a lot of surface area. These plants not only take in nutrients (converted to oxygen) and contaminants, but their roots also provide a larger surface area for microbes to flourish, which forms a slimy layer of biofilm (where most of degradation and nutrient uptake occurs). According to the blue carbon lab, floating wetlands have the ability to reduce greenhouse gases by up to 50%.
Soils
One of the downsides Singapore's wetlands face is regarding the types of soil we posses. Singapore has quite a but of Mineral Soils. Compared to other more efficient soils like Organic Soil, the carbon content held within the soil is slightly less, as Mineral soils are generally adapted for housing dead trees etc.
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Mineral soils have a pH of around 5.8 to 6, but Singapore's soil generally is more acidic (as low as pH 3.7 as mentioned by the National Institute of Health) as proved by recent researches. This could further affect the usefulness of wetlands. Besides, Mineral Soils do not contain as much organic matter compared to Organic Soil, putting Singapore to a disadvantage.
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Thus, by changing the type of soil used in floating wetlands, we can increase the rate of carbon sequestration.
So... what can we do?
Floating Wetlands are designed for water and air purification, thus installing more of such would be able to capture more carbon, reducing the amount of carbon we have in the atmosphere and pacing ourselves towards our 2030 carbon goal.
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However, this method does pose its disadvantages, such as the important rule of only 20% of water bodies being covered by wetlands to ensure the survival and wellbeing of living organisms in the water bodies. Moreover, we must use recyclable plastics to build the systems, so as to reduce any pollution caused by the ecosystems around. Should you use other materials like concrete, they may post a threat when degraded, so it may not be as feasible. But this doesn't last more than 5 years, but some other options include rooftop gardens.
1. Vertical rooftop gardens can be considered
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Vertical Gardens provide a more space efficient option, especially due to Singapore's lack of land space.
Thus, through the production of such gardens to improve the soil and carbon sequestration of the soils, these could potentially be of good use to Singapore.
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2. Constructing more floating wetlands
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Manmade floating wetlands serve the purpose of natural wetlands, sequestrating carbon. The only difference is the customisation in size, especially since the water bodies that house these manmade floating wetlands have a 20% maximum area to be covered by such wetlands.